Hole-cutting machine



, Jan. 1, 1929.

S. L. MOORE. JR

HOLE CUTTING MACHINE Original Filed March 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 NVENTOR. W2?

ATTORNEY.

W/r/m'as Jan. 1, 1929.

S. L. MOORE. JR

HOLE CUTTING MACHINE Original Filed March' 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INV NTOR A TTORNE Y.

Jan. I, 1929'.

s. 1.. MOORE. JR

HOLE CUTTING MACHINE ori inal Filed March 1, 1927 s Sheets-Sheet 5 IN V TOR,

Patented Jan. 1, 1929.

UNITE STAES ATENT- OFFICE.

STEWART MOORE, JR., OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR TO LOCKE INSULA'IORv CORPORATION, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, A CORPORATION OF MARYLAND.

HOLE-CUTTING MACHINE.

Application filed March. 1, 1927, Serial No. 171,856. Renewed February 8, 1928.

The invention relates to machines for cutting holes in the formation of insulators of the Hewlett type.

It is well known that insulators of the type mentioned are formed with interlinking curved passages opening out, respectively, at the top and bottom, these passages being for the accommodation of suspension links used for connecting a plurality of units together in a string or chain. The suspension links are generally of substantially U-shape and are slid or threaded through or into the passages so that their bight portions will be located insertion of the links the passages should have flaring entrances which serve. the additional purpose of permitting a certain amount of play of the links with respect to the insulators so that the parts may accommodate themselves to the line of pull. It has been proposed to cut the passages by hand, but

obviously this is bound to be a slow and laborious operation. Furthermore, regardless of the exact method of cutting heretofore employed there is a tendency for the clay to tear away at the ends of the passages, resulting in inequalities and minus spots which are naturally objectionable. 3

It is with the above facts in view that I have designed the present invention which has for its general object the provision of a machine by means of which interlinking curved passages may be cut accurately and uniformly, as well as rapidly in insulators in a green or plastic condition.

An important object of the invention is to provide a device for this purpose so constructed and arranged that the ends of the passages will be flared to the extent necessary to facilitate the insertion of the links and to permit relative movement of the parts so that they may accommodate themselves to the line of strain in service.

In my co-pcnding application filed May 19th, 1926, Serial No. 110,802, which application was allowed August 6th, 1926', I havedisclosed a machine for the same general purpose as the present one.

It is an object of the present invention to simphfy the construction ofthe machine embodied in or forming the basis of saidappli zatlon without sacrificing accuracy in operaion.

It is another object of the present invent1on to provide a hole cutting machine of this character embodying novel means whereby the clay removed by and remaining in the-cut ters after their passage through the insulator body may be easily extruded so that the device Wlll be ready for operating upon another insulator without any appreciable delay.

Another object is to provide clayremoving means so mounted as not to interfere with the moyement of the" parts during cutting but which may be instantly moved into operative relation to the cutters forthe purpose of forcmg out the clay therein.

A further'obj'ect of the invention is to provide a machine of this character capable of being constructed and arranged. to operate either at one or both sides of an insulator, the latter adaptation being accomplished simplyy duplicating the structure needed in the former instance. f

Yet another object is to provide a cutter of this character having means whereby the throw of thecutters and the links and levers for moving the samemay be adjusted to insure proper timing for effecting accurate cutting action; I

An additional, object of theinvention is the provision of a cutting machine of this type equipped with means whereby the entire passage forming mechanism may be lifted bodily away from the insulator operated on and to a suflicient height that insulators may be placed in position, cut, inverted and turned for additional treatment without interference with any of the moving parts.

T0 the attainment of the foregoing and other objects and advantages such as simplicity and cheapness in construction, ease in operation and efficiency in action, the invention preferably consists in the construction,

combination and arrangement of parts to 'be hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of the machine in position preparatory to making a cut,

Figure 2 is a vertical cross sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1 and show ed guides 2 on which is slidable a carriage structure indicated generally at 3, this carriage being shown as comprising upper and lower members 1 and 5 radiating from a housing 6 and terminating in sectional sleeves 7 and 8 respectively, engaged upon the guides 2. Suitably secured to the lower arms or members 5 are brackets 9 which depend therefrom and which support the cutting mechanism to be described. The lower sleeve members 8 may be provided with lateral extensions or lugs 10 carrying rods 11 slidable through the base and which might, if preferred, be connected with some suitable treadle mechansm (not shown) for moving the carriage. .Downward movement of the carriage may be limited by stops 12 rising fromthe base and adjustable thereon, and upward movement is of course limited by the transverse bar or other member 18 which connects the upper ends of the guides 2, The stops 12 are shown as screwed into place and equipped with lock nuts 14, it being therefore possible to adjust them in case such is necessary. 7 t

, While it isnot essential, I may counterbalance the slidable carriage and all the parts carried thereby and to be described, and for accomplishing this purpose use may be made of a forkedlever 15 pivoted at 16 upon brackets 17 and pivotally connected at 18 with brackets 19 secured to, or formed upon the lugs or extensions 10. The lever 15 maycarry any suitable adjustably mounted weight 20. The parts 15 to 20 inclusive, while illustrated in Figure 1, are omitted in Figures 2 and 8 for the reason that this structure isidentically the same as that disclosed in said co -pending application.

At the center of the base may be provided a tubular boss 22 for the reception of a stem 23 depending from a pallet or plate member 24 which carries a support 25 having the proper configuration to conform to the curved surfaces of an insulator 26 in which interlinking curved passages are to be cut.

If 'thestructure thus far described and to be described is provided in only one unit instead of being duplicated for working upon both sides of the insulator 26 at the same time, it will be necessary at certain stages in the operation to give the insulator 26 a quarter turn and for this reason any suitable means may be provided for permitting the support formed by the parts 28, 2a and 25 to be turned to just this extent and, if desired, a stop device may conceivably be operatively positioned with respect to the moving parts.

'As above mentioned, the entire cutting mechanism is supported from the carriage and includes a pair of angular frame members or yokes 27 pivoted at opposite sides of the depending brackets 9 as shown at 28, these frame members having ears 29 thereon with which are pivotally connected, at 30, clevises 31 carried by angular rods or links 32 which have their other ends carrying clevises 38 pivoted at 84 upon the lower end of a rack 35 slidable through the housing 6. It is desirable to provide means for adjusting the length of the rods or links 32 and for this reason one is shown as screwed into its clevis 33 and equipped with a lock nut 36 whereas the other is shown as provided intermediate its ends with a turnbuckle 87. Clearly, by moving the rack 35 the yoke or frame members 27 will be swung outwardly and downwardly away from each other or upwardly and. toward each other.

The operating means is here shown as comprising a gear 38 meshing with the rack 35 and carried by a shaft 39 journaled through bearing extensions 40 on the housing 6, the shaft carrying a handle 41 preferably counterbalanced at 42 for the sake of smoothness in operation.

Suitably secured to the frame or yoke members 27 are cutters 13 of tubular form and arcuate shape with both ends open. These cutters may be circular in cross section or may have any other desired specific configura tion, depending upon preference which in turn depends upon the shape of the passages desired to be cut in the insulator body. These cutters are so mounted or positioned with respect to the frame or yoke members 27 that when the latter are in substantially horizontal position, as illustrated in Figure 8, the cutters will be in end to end relation and will constitute the lower half of a ring. The free or lower ends of these cutters are the active ends designed to be forced through the clay of the insulator and they may of course be sharpened in any preferred manner to facilitate penetration.

Up to this point the structure is very similar to that disclosed in the above mentioned application except that it is simpler as it involves fewer parts. In the operation up to this point itwill be apparent that the support 25 carrying the insulator 26 to be cut is placed upon the base, the cutting mechanism being of course in elevated position so as not to interfere with the proper positioning of the insulator below it. The operator then grasps the handle 41 and rotates the shaft 39 so that the gear 38 meshing with the rack 35 will move the rack downwardly. When this is done the rods or links 32 will be moved outwardly and downwardly, resulting in outward and downward swinging movement of the yoke or frame members 27 carrying the cutters 43. Upon the initial downward movement the ends of the cutters engage upon the top surface of the insulator 26 and will cut substantially straight down to certain extent, as shown at 44 in Figure 2. However, as the movement continues the outward swing of the frame or yoke members 27 becomes more pronounced and the cutters are moved in an arcuate path through the insulator until their ends come into abutting engagement as shown in Figure 3. This movement of the cutters through the insulator forms the desired curved passage and the preliminary or initial straight out gives the ends of the passage a slight flare. Of course the cutters must be subsequently withdrawn and the clay therein removed therefrom.

An important feature of the present invention is the provision of means whereby the clay entering and remaining within the cutters may be removed prior to the withdrawal of the cutters from the insulator. In carrying out this feature I preferably provide an elongated guide 45 located at one side of the stationary portion of the machine and havits upper end equipped with a bracket member 46 or the like movably mounted and preferably pivoted at 47 upon the housing 6. This guide encloses a flexible plunger or shaft 48 which is slidable therein and which is equipped with an operating handle 49 suitably secured thereto and slidable along an elongated slot 50 provided in the guide. For

the sake of convenience in assembling the slot preferably extends to the lower or. open end of the guide and there is provided at this lower end a stop) 51 engageable by the handle 49 for preventing the flexible shaft or plunger from being entirely withdrawn from the guide. The bracket 46 is of such construction and it is so mounted that when the guide is swung into operative position comparatively close to the stationary portionof the machine its lower end will register-with the upper end of the adjacent cutter.

During the cutting action above described, the guide 45 is swung away from the-stationary portion of the machine as illustrated in Figure 2 so as not to interfere with the swinging movement of the frame or yoke members carrying the cutters. Then the pashas been formed by moving the cutters through the insulator into the position shown in Figure 3 the operator swings the guide 45 into its operative position. At this time the handle 49 is of course at the upper limit of its movement and the flexible shaft or plunger is entirely enclosed within the guide. The operatorthen grasps the handle 49 and pulls downwardly upon it to project the plunger or shaft into and through both'cutters, the clay in the latter being forced out as illustrated by the dotted lines in Figure 3. The handle 49 is then moved upwardly to draw or retract the flexible plunger or shaft into the guide, the guide is swung away into its non-obstructing position shown in Figure 2 and the handle 41 is moved to draw the rack 35 upwardly, resulting in upward swinging movement of the frame or yoke members 27 and the with-- drawal of the cutters from the insulator.

This is the complete cycle of operations and the partsare then in proper position for cutting another passage. It is readily apparent that the structure may be duplicated below the insulator support forcut-ting two inter-- linking passages at right angles to each other simultaneously and it is conceivable that such duplicate devices could be connected for operation in unison though this is not illustrated as being simply an adding on to the disclosure. If only one cutting apparatus is used instead of such a duplication, it will be seen that after one passage has been cut'in an insulator, the insulator must be turned over and replaced in partially rotated position, that is to say at an angle of 90 to the position it occupies when the first cut is made.

After the passages are cut as above indicated, the insulator may be sponged and any subsequent smoothing 0r polishing operations performed while the insulator remains 011 its support 25. a

From the foregoing description and a study of the drawings it will be apparent that I have thus provided a very simple and easily operatedmachine by means of which interlinking curved passages may be rapidly, accurately and smoothly formed in insulators. As the parts have a certain predetermined movement and as they are all in a certain fixed relation, it is obvious that the passageswill be uniform in all instances, there being an absence of variations such as would occur as the result'of hand cutting. As the path of the cutters is uniform high spots and other inequalities in the passages will be avoided and smooth and even bearing surfaces will be provided against which suspension links will bear. By insuring the absence of high spots the mechanical loads to which the insulator units are subjected in service" will be uniformly distributed and cannot become concentrated at any point or points, this feature being of importance in increasing the longevity.

While I have shown and described a certain preferred form ofthe invention and a specific arrangement of parts, it should of course be understood that the disclosure is merely an exemplification of the principles involved and that the right is reserved to make all such variations in the detailed struc- 'ture as Well as in the combination as Will not depart from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claims hereunto appended.

Having thus described the invention, I claim:

1. In a machine for cutting curved passages in insulators, a support adapted to sustain an insulator temporarily thereon, a rela tively stationary frame, curved tubular cutters carried by the frame, means for forcing said cutters in a curved path through the insulator and into end to end relation, and means cooperating with the cutters for removing therefrom clay accumulating therein during their movement through the insulator.

.2. In a machine for cutting curved passages in insulators, a support adapted to sustain an insulator temporarily thereon, a; relatively stationary frame, curved tubular cutterscarried by the frame, means for forcing said cutters in a curved path through the insulator and into end to end relation, and means projectable through said cutters for removing therefrom the clay entering the same during their movement through the insulator.

3. Ina machine for cutting curved passages in insulators, a support adapted to sustain an insulator temporarily thereon, a rela tively stationary frame, curved tubular cutters carried by the frame, means for forcing said cutters in a curved path through the insulator and into endto end relation, and a flexible plunger slidable through the cutters for forcing out the material accumulating therein during their cutting operation.

4. In a machine for cutting curved passages in insulators, a support adapted to sustain an insulator temporarily thereon, a rela tively stationary frame, curved tubular cutters carried by the frame, means for forcing said cutters in a curved path through the insulator and into end to end relation, a flexible plunger slidable through the cutters for forcing out the material accumulating therein during their cutting operation, and a movably mounted guide for said plunger.

5. In a machine for cutting curved passages in insulators, a support adapted to sustain an insulator temporarily thereon, a relatively stationary frame, curved tubular cutters carried by the frame, means for forcing said cutters in a curved path through the insulator and into end to end relation, a flexible plunger slidable through the cutters for forcing out the material accumulating therein during their cutting operation, and a guide for said plunger pivotally mounted upon the frame and swingable selectively into operative or inoperative position.

6. In a machine for forming curved passages through an insulator, a stationary frame, means for temporarily supporting an insulator with respect to the frame, curved tubular cutters, means mounted on the frame and carrying the cutters, means for moving the cutters in a curved path through the material of the insulator and into end to end relation, a guide movably mounted on the frame and disposable selectively in operative or inoperative position With respect to the cutters, and a flexible member slidably mounted Within the guide and adapted to be projected through the cutters for forcing out the material accumulating therein during their passage through the insulator.

7; In a machine of the character described, a support, means for holding an insulator temporarily, movable members, mounted on the support and carrying tubular curved cutters, means for moving said members to force the cutters through the insulator in a curved path and into end to end relation, a guide pivoted uponthe support and swingable into registration with one end of one of the cutters, and a flexible member slidable through the guide and proj ectable through the cutters.

8. In a machine of the character described, a support, means for holding an insulator temporarily, movable members mounted on the support and carrying tubular curved cutters, means for moving said members to force the cutters through the insulator in a curved path and into end to end relation, a guide pivoted upon the support and swingable into registration with one end of one of the cutters, and a flexible member slidable through the guideand projectable through the cutters, a handle on the tubular member slid.- able along the guide, and the guide having a longitudinal slot accommodating the handle.

9. In a machine of the character described, means for temporarily supporting an insulator in plastic condition, tubular cutting means movably mounted With respect to the support and adapted to be forced through the insulator to form a curved passage therein, and means project-able through the cutter at the completion of its cutting stroke Whereby to force out the material accumulating therein during its passage through the insulator.

10. In a machine of the character described, a relatively stationary supporting structure, means for supporting an insulator in plastic condition, a tubular cutter, means on the stationary structure for moving the cutter in a curved path through the material of the insulator to form a curved passage therein, and a flexible plunger movably mounted With respect to the stationary structure and adapted to be forced through the cutter at the completion of its cutting stroke whereby to force out the material therein.

11. In a machine of the character described, a relatively stationary supporting structure, means for supporting an insulator in plastic condition, a tubular cut-ter, means on the stationary structure for moving the cutter in a curved path through the material of the insulator to form a curved passage therein, a flexible plunger movably mounted with respect to the stationary structure and adapted to be forced through the cutter at the completion of its cutting stroke whereby to force out the material therein, and guide means for said flexible plunger movably mounted upon the stationary structure and capable of disposition in non-obstructing relation to the cutter.

12. In a machine of the character described, means for temporarily supporting an insulator, a curved tubular cutter, means for forcing the cutter through the material of the insulator to form a curved passage therein, and means for forcing the material out of the cutter.

13. In a machine of the character described, a stationary supporting structure, means for temporarily mounting a plastic insulator therein, a curved tubular cutter, means on said supporting structure operable to force the cutter through the material of the insulator, and means movable upon the supporting structure from operative to inoperative position and projectable through the cutter.

14-. In a machine of the character described, a supporting structure, means for temporarily mounting a plastic insulator therein, yoke members pivoted on the supporting structure and carrying curved tubular guides, means for moving the yoke members to force the guides through the material of the insulator in a curved path to form a passage having concentric walls.

.15. In a device of the character described, means for temporarily supporting an insulator in plastic condition, a curved hollow cutter, means for forcing the cutter through the material of the insulator, and means projectable through the cutter for forcing out the material accumulating therein during its passage through the insulator.

16. In a device of the character described,

means for temporarily supporting an insu lator. in plastic condition, a curved cutter of hollow formation, means for forcing the cutter through the material of the insulator, whereby the cutter will remove and retain within itself a certain portion of the insulator material, and means for subsequently removing the material from within the cutter.

17. In a device of the character described, means for temporarily supporting an insulator in plastic condition, a curved cutter of hollow formation, means for forcing the cutter through the material of the insulator, whereby the cutter will remove and retain within itself a. certain portion of the insulator material, and means for subsequently removing the material from within the cutter, said means being normally located in nonobstructing relation to the path of movement of the cutter.

18. In a device of the character described, means for temporarily supporting an insulator in plastic condition, a curved cutter of hollow formation, means for forcing the cutter through the material of the insulator, whereby the cutter will remove and retain within itself a certain portion of the insulator material, and means for subsequently re- I moving the material from within the cutter, said means being normally located in nonobstructing relation to the path of movement of the cutter and being movable into a position to aline with the cutter to be projected therethrough.

19. In a device of the character described, means for temporarily supporting an insulator in plastic condition, acurved hollow cutter, mechanically operated means for forcing the cutter through the material of the insulator whereby the cutter will remove a portion of the material of the insulator and retain the same within itself, and plunger means movable through the cutter for forcing out the material retained therein during its passage through the insulator.

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature.

STEWART L. MOORE, JR. 

